Mathew Sweezey: Contextual Marketing in an Infinite Media World

03/26/20 • 22 min

Mathew Sweezey is a marketing futurist for Salesforce. Based on his research, he discovered that June 24, 2009, was a tipping point for media and marketing. That’s the day consumers officially overtook brands and businesses as the dominant media creators. Since then, an infinite and uncontrollable stream of noise -- tweets, Facebook updates, texts, blog posts, Amazon reviews -- has been the foundation of the new media environment. It has inspired new consumer behaviors and forced marketers to play by new rules. Matt joins the podcast to talk about his new book, Context Marketing Revolution: How to Motivate Buyers in the Age of Infinite Media, and why brands can no longer simply force messaging into the marketplace and expect that will be enough to persuade people to buy. Instead, brands must now market with context in mind and co-create with the very people who create and consume. Listen to this podcast episode to learn: • What is contextual marketing and how does it differ from what has worked in the past? • How brands have shifted to a new business model of “market, sell, build, market” • Mercedes vs. Tesla: two starkly different approaches to marketing • How high-performing brands like Oreo have co-created with the marketplace to establish demand for new products before they launch • How LEGO designed around the context of people’s holiday shopping pains in order to boost online sales • The downside of A/B testing • How companies like Room and Board use AI to create “headless commerce” • What’s next in marketing as AI, video, and voice take center stage For more information: mathewsweezey.com

Previous Episode

Bill Walshe, CEO, Viceroy Hotel Group: What People Want From a Luxury Experience

In luxury, “cookie cutter” doesn’t cut it. And for a luxury hotel brand, it has to strike a delicate balance between delivering a guest experience that’s both consistent and one-of-a-kind. Bill Walshe, CEO at Viceroy Hotel Group, says that consistency shouldn’t stifle the things that guests remember: spontaneity, authenticity, individuality, and creativity. He calls his philosophy “consistent individuality.” Viceroy Hotel Group maintains 15 properties around the world, from St. Lucia to Los Cabos to Beverly Hills and beyond, with another 8 soon to enter the brand’s portfolio. Each maintains its own distinct sense of location and destination while also sharing Viceroy’s brand essence. Walshe joins the podcast to give his take on what luxury means in the service industry today, and how Viceroy designs its experience around changing guest preferences, new technologies, brand partnerships, and shared values. Listen to this podcast episode to learn: • Why hotels aren’t just service providers; they’re content providers with Instagrammable moments in mind • From celebrity chefs to spin studios, how the right brand partnerships and alliances add value to the guest experience and future-proof the business • Why guests want to stay at hotels where they feel they're making a positive impact on the world through a “contribution without compromise” • Why Viceroy decided to open the first-ever hotel designed around celebrating female achievement and empowerment (Hotel Zena in Washington, DC) • Is luxury’s assumed exclusivity a “historically passé” notion?

Next Episode

Nicholas Thompson, Editor-in-Chief, WIRED: The Big Questions Ahead of Us

Nicholas Thompson once wrote that WIRED’s purview is the future and that “the only way to think creatively about the future is with something like optimism.” But it’s hard to think optimistically right now. Our old ways of living have been fundamentally altered -- and may never return. Nicholas joins the podcast to talk about the profound changes we’re all living through and the broad implications this pandemic will have for society, businesses, technology, governments, and our environment. Listen to this podcast episode to learn: • Reasons to feel optimistic about our future (and challenges that will need to be solved) • People’s perceptions of and attitudes towards Big Tech during this crisis • The perilous state of data privacy when our health is on the line • Are we experiencing a “work from home bubble” and overestimating the value of remote work? • Whether the environmental movement may lose momentum in the years ahead • How technologies like AI and blockchain may help build stronger governments and smarter policy • Why coronavirus has been bad for (poorly run) democracies For more info: www.nickthompson.com